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{{work|wppage=Canon of Sherlock Holmes}}
{{Multiple Works Need Separate Pages}}
The literary canon of [[Sherlock Holmes]] consists of the fifty-six short stories and four novels written by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]. See '''[[Sherlock Holmes]]''' for more information about the character and the various adaptations of [[Sherlock Holmes]].
* ''[[Sherlock Holmes (novel)/Source/A Study in Scarlet|A Study in Scarlet]]'': Published 1887
* ''The Sign of the Four/The Sign of Four'': Published 1890
* ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'': Serialized 1901 through 1902 in ''The Strand''
* ''The Valley of Fear'': Serialized 1914 through 1915
Contains 12 stories published in ''The Strand'' between July 1891 and December 1892 with original illustrations by Sidney Paget.
* "A Scandal in Bohemia"
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* "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches"
Contains 12 stories published in ''The Strand'' as further episodes of the ''Adventures'' between December 1892 and November 1893 with original illustrations by Sidney Paget.
* "Silver Blaze"
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* "The Final Problem" (Watson reports the death of Holmes)
Contains 13 stories published in ''The Strand'' between October 1903 and January 1905 with original illustrations by Sidney Paget.
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* "The Adventure of the Second Stain"
Contains seven stories published 1908–1913, 1917.
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* " His Last Bow"
Contains 12 stories published 1921–1927.
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* "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger"
* "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place"
{{franchisetropes}}
== A-G ==
* [[Absence of Evidence]]:
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** Milverton would also qualify, he carries a gun around to every negotiation to avoid any physical confrontation.
** Moriarty is the King of unfair. He doesn't do anything himself, instead dispatching an army of professional killers to pick off his victims in the most sudden, unexpected, and brutal ways. Typically they don't even see it coming. Until, of course, in {{spoiler|the final scenes of 'The Final Problem' when he's lost everything. He just lunges at Holmes - no weapon, no nothing - with the sole intention of sending Holmes, and probably himself as well, over the Falls}}.
* [[Complete Monster]]: There are two canonical examples explicitly considered such. The first is Colonel Sebastian Moran, whom Holmes describes as a ruthless killer entirely without conscience. The second is Charles Augustus Milverton, whom Holmes felt match the description of this trope perfectly, and he certainly proved to be an utterly sociopathic bastard when they met.
* [[Compromising Memoirs]]: A note at the start of one of short stories indicates that there are plenty of people who do NOT want Watson to write these stories. Many others live short lives after Holmes helps them. Conveniently letting Watson tell his tales with impunity.
* [[Couldn't Find a Lighter]]: The first time Watson meets Holmes in ''A Study in Scarlet'', Holmes is using a hot coal from the fireplace to light his pipe.
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** This trope makes a comeback in ''Black Peter'', ''The Solitary Cyclist'', ''The Naval Treaty'', and ''The Final Problem''. In ''The Sign of (the) Four'' a professional boxer remarks that Holmes could have quite a career in the ring.
* [[GPS Evidence]]: Hey, Holmes wrote that monograph on the many types of tobacco ash for a reason. He put that special sort of attention to detail to use, too; he could tell exactly where mud on someone's shoes came from, and used the info.
== H-N ==
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** Watson's friend Percy ejaculates every third paragraph in [[The Summation]] of ''The Naval Treaty''.
** In The Second Stain, Lestrade warns one of his officers that he would find himself "in Queer Street." This meant he would be in financial trouble back when it was written, but those unfamiliar with hundred year old British euphemisms might take that comment in a whole different direction.
** "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" does one better. Watson describes a suspect thusly: "a boxer, an athlete, a plunger on the turf, a lover of fair ladies, and, by all account, so far down Queer Street that he may never find his way back again.” For what it's worth, a "plunger on the turf" was a reckless gambler who preferred to bet on the horses, and 'far down Queer Street' means 'being heavily in debt'.
** "So sorry to knock you up, Watson." - ''The Speckled Band''
** "She pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff" - ''A Case Of Identity''.
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* [[Inter Class Romance]]: ''A Scandal in Bohemia'' has the "rich guy, common girl" romance with the Prince of Bohemia and Miss Irene Adler. Used to show how superior the resourceful and clever Miss Adler is to her 'superior':
{{quote|''"From what I have seen of the lady, she seems, indeed, to be on a very different level to Your Majesty," said Holmes, coldly.''}}
** Worse, as the story had been written at some time in 1888, the former King of Bohemia (date of death 1875, who enjoyed royal residence, wealth and prestige even as the royal title had been removed from him) was the "imbecile Emperor" [[wikipedia:Ferdinand I of Austria|Ferdinand of Austria]], while the description of the King and the fact he had a female artist as a lover matches [[wikipedia:Ludwig I of Bavaria|Ludwig I of Bavaria]], who had a scandalous relationship in the late 1840s. For [[Victorian Britain]] readers, [[In
** Watson is relieved when the client's unexpected inheritance is lost in ''Sign of the Four'' because it caused this to be averted.
* [[Intercontinuity Crossover]]: ''And how!'' The first time was before Holmes became a [[Public Domain Character]] with [[Arsène Lupin]]. However, Conan Doyle's lawyers complained so Maurice LeBlanc was allowed to use the name Sherlock Holmes only once, but went on to use the character many more times, changing his name to Horlock Sholmes or Herlock Shears (depending on the publisher) Recent English editions usually change it back to the original name, but never in the French editions. Also notable are Holmes' crossovers with detective, scifi and Gothic characters such as Dracula, [[Doctor Who]], Batman both in comic and animated form (in the latter he and Watson suffered through many layers of Flanderization), C. Auguste Dupin, Eugine François Vidocq ([[Real Life]] detective), the [[H.P. Lovecraft]] mythos, Professor Challenger, [[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, etc. and sometimes pitted against real life [[Serial Killer|Serial Killers]] like [[Jack the Ripper]] or H.H. Holmes. And of course his brief appeareance but tremendous influence in [[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]].
* [[In the Blood]]: Holmes states that his amazing deductive skills and genius is hereditary, he and brother both possessing them. He theorized it might have been because they were descended from the famous Vernet line of French painters. Interestingly, Vernet really did have a sister, who did have a few children, one of which would've had to have been a Holmes parent, legitimately or otherwise.
** Holmes also believes that Moriarty turned out evil because of "hereditary tendencies of the darkest kind" magnified by his incredible natural genius. The villain of the ''Hound of the Baskervilles'' has a similar theme going on.
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* [[Leave Behind a Pistol]]
* [[Let Off by the Detective]]: Holmes sometime does this, reasoning that his job is simply to find a solution to a crime. Since he's not technically a member of the police or the courts, he doesn't feel obliged to turn someone over if he thinks their motive was noble.
** Done very reluctantly in "A Case of Identity". Holmes had to, the man was truly innocent of LEGAL crime, but his actions were so reprehensible Holmes still wanted to beat the crap out of him had he not run away fast enough.
** Holmes and Watson were subject to this in The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans. In the process of tracking down the titular plans, Holmes and Watson had to effect a burglary of a suspect's premises to secure a vital lead. Lestrade later learns of it, but he has no choice but to let the two of them off since Holmes was basically given a blank check to do ANYTHING to retrieve the titular plans on the behalf of the Britsh government.
* [[Living Emotional Crutch]]: Watson to Holmes, according to some interpretations.
** Reversed, in the very first novel. Watson spends much of ''A Study In Scarlet'' a physical and emotional wreck after his disastrous experiences in Afghanistan (he clearly would've been diagnosed with PTSD by modern standards), alone, penniless, depressed, and miserable. His adventure with Holmes can be viewed as a much-needed re-introduction to the land of the living.
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It was worth a wound--it was worth many wounds--to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation. }}
* [[Not with Them for the Money]]: Watson to Mary Morstan in ''The Sign of the Four''--to the point where he resolves not to even bother wooing her if the money Holmes is searching for turns up, not wanting to be thought of as a [[Gold Digger]]. {{spoiler|He doesn't tell her his true feelings until the treasure box is found, empty}}.
== O-T ==
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* [[Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training]]: In the first story, it's revealed that Holmes has no literary knowledge beyond modern crime literature, and when Watson explains the makeup of the solar system to him, he is interested, but immediately comments that he will "do his best to forget it." Why? Because Holmes reasons that there is only so much you can hold in your head, and he needs only what is required for his profession. This tends to be ignored by other writers.
** As it was by Doyle himself almost straight away. Despite apparently having nil knowledge of literature, Holmes is able to quote [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] in the original and is familiar with Thomas Carlyle. Perhaps Holmes just had one of those "famous quote each day" novelty calendars?
** More simply, Holmes has "an impish habit of practical joking", by his own admission. His whole 'lumber-room' speech seems to have been him winding Watson up -- it was, after all, before they became close friends.
* [[Sarcastic Confession]]: Another one from "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", wherein Holmes sardonically points out to Lestrade that an eyewitness' description of one of the two "burglars" at Milverton's house is so vaguely broad that 'Why, it might be a description of Watson!', prompting Lestrade to agree and laugh off the witness' testimony as too fragmentary to be useful. Of course, the "burglar" in question actually ''was'' Watson.
* [[Scare'Em Straight]]: This trope is [[Lampshaded]] by Holmes when he lets James Ryder go in ''The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle''. Holmes notes that Ryder is already a nervous wreck after everything he's been through, and that he's too scared to ever commit a crime again. Putting Ryder in jail would only making him a jailbird for life, but letting him go after very nearly being ruined will keep him from ever doing wrong again. In any event, the greater good would be served since Holmes would be able to ensure the man Ryder framed would be found innocent of the crime.
* [[Science Marches On]]: In "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", Sherlock determines that a man is intelligent by his hat size, reasoning that a man with a big head has a large brain, and therefore is smarter than averge. We now know that there is no connection between brain size and intelligence.
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* [[Title Drop]]: "The Speckled Band" is spoken in-story as part of a woman's last words.
* [[Total Party Kill]]: The fate of all the honest crew on the ''Gloria Scott'' {{spoiler|and then a second time shortly afterwards, with the mutineers, as well as the entire ship.}}
* [[Treasure Map]]: ''The Musgrave Ritual''.
* [[Trouble Magnet Gambit]]: Happens by accident in ''The Hound Of The Baskervilles'', in which the escaped convict Seldon is secretly given some old clothes of Sir Henry's. The titular hound is set on the trail by the smell of Sir Henry's boot, and understandably mistakes Seldon for its real target because of the clothes' odor.
* [[Truth in Television|Truth In Literature]]: Doyle himself would go on to investigate, Sherlock Holmes style, the cases of two men who had been wrongly imprisoned and found the evidence to set them free.
** The examination of a victim's clothes for clues and the use of plaster to make impressions of marks on the ground was first done in the stories and later became real.
== U-Z ==
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** [[Asshole Victim]] - Appears in the first work Holmes appears in. In contrast to modern works where murder is considered inexcusable even the suspect has been harmed in major ways by the victim {{spoiler|the murderer that he apprehends turns out to be a wholly sympathetic vigilante who was just trying to avenge his dead wife, but dies at the end anyway. The closest thing that the novel has to actual "villains" are the murder victims themselves}}.
** [[Defective Detective]] - Holmes eccentricities are portrayed very differently from more modern depictions of the detective. While the modern [[Defective Detective]] can credit much of their forensic skills to their eccentricities, they also at times hinder the detective.
* [[The Unsolved Mystery]]: In ''The Problem of Thor Bridge'' [[The Watson]] makes [[Noodle Incident|a mention of at least three cases even
* [[Unwitting Instigator of Doom]]: The Swiss messenger who lures Watson away in "The Final Problem" was formerly the trope namer.
* [[Victorian London]]: the setting for most of the original mysteries.
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* [[Whole-Episode Flashback]]: ''The Musgrave Ritual'' and ''Gloria Scott''. Three out of the four novels also feature this, namely ''Study In Scarlet'', ''Sign Of Four'', and ''Valley Of Fear''. This is mostly the reason why ''Hound of The Baskervilles'' became the most filmed Canonical story ever and consequently the most famous.
* [[With Friends Like These...]]: Arguably, Holmes and Watson.
* [[Word of Dante]]: Holmesian fanon (known amongst fans as The Game, since long before the
** Irene Adler is now frequently considered to be Holmes' [[Love Interest]] thanks to this trope and [[Promoted to Love Interest]].
** Similarly, Mycroft Holmes and the Diogenes Club have been expanded by later pastiches (notably ''[[The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes]]'') into the Head of the Secret Service and one of its fronts respectively, when in the original canon they're little more than what Doyle presents them as (a [[Brilliant but Lazy]] civil servant and a club for reclusive eccentrics).
*** In fairness, though, Mycroft's being revealed as a deliberately obfuscated but very senior Government policy advisor who handles highly classified matters when necessary, and who only pretends to be a low-ranking civil servant, ''is'' from the original canon; see "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans".
* [[World War
* [[Year Zero]]: Holmes is revealed to be 60 years old during 1914 which effectively gave him a birth year (1854) and an age (27) during ''A Study in Scarlet''.
* [[You Have Waited Long Enough]]: In "[http://www.classicreader.com/book/56/10/ The Adventure Of the Noble Bachelor]", a woman vanished immediately after her wedding. Holmes speaks of recognizing it from comparison with past cases, and tracks down the bride and her first husband, whom she had just learned was still alive.
{{reflist}}
{{The Big Read}}
[[Category:Crime Fiction]]
[[Category:Detective Literature]]
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[[Category:Sherlock Holmes]]
[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]
[[Category:Literature of the 19th century]]
[[Category:Literature of the 1900s]]
[[Category:Literature of the 1910s]]
[[Category:Literature of the 1920s]]
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